Weekly Market Wrap: 5/27/2011Friday, May 27, 4:35 PM ET

The twenty first trading week of the year comes to a close as investors fret about April consumer spending showing a weak gain due to increases in food and gasoline prices as we head into the long Memorial Day weekend.

In corporate news this week, Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (NYSE:KKR) said today it has hired Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) networking division chief Marius Haas as an industry advisor. KKR said Haas will indentify and pursue new investments in the technology sector in particular, while supporting existing portfolio companies. Haas has been senior vice president and worldwide general manager of HP's networking division since 2008, and prior to that he was chief strategy officer and head of corporate M&A at HP.

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) announced its chief financial officer, Michael Collins, has resigned to pursue another opportunity. Sears Holdings named controller William Phelan acting CFO. Sears said Collins will remain with the company until June 10 to ensure a smooth transition.

Novartis (NYSE:NVS) said today its drug Ilaris was successful at treating gouty arthritis, commonly known as gout, in late-stage trials, bolstering its applications for the drug. Novartis has already filed for FDA approval for the treatment, also known as ACZ885, which blocks an inflammatory protein to reduce pain and the frequency of new gout episodes by 68% compared to treatment with an injectable steroid. The pharma firm has also filed for the drug’s approval in the EU, Canada and Switzerland.

Watson Pharmaceuticals (WPI) said it has agreed to acquire privately-held Specifar Pharmaceuticals for 400 million euro, or $562 million in cash and contingent consideration. Watson said it gains a leading generic product development company, and enhances its commercial presence in key European markets by providing a portfolio of approved products. Specifar’s pipeline includes a generic tablet version of AstraZeneca’s (NYSE:AZN) Nexium, which could launch in European markets in the fourth quarter. Watson said the transaction will be immediately accretive to 2011 non-GAAP earnings.

Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) posted a wider loss for its fourth fiscal quarter, of $22.4 million, or $0.27 per share, compared to a loss of $9.7 million, or $0.13 per share, last year. Take-Two said its adjusted loss totaled $0.18 per share, narrower than analysts had forecast. Revenue fell to $282.3 million from $233.2 million in last year’s fourth quarter, but exceeded analyst forecasts as well. Take-Two’s forecast for earnings of $0.10 to $0.35 per share on revenue of $1 billion to $1.3 billion for the full year misses analyst predictions.

Digital video recorder company TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO) said it swung to a profit in the fiscal first quarter, mainly on patent suit settlements from Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) and EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS). TiVo earnings $139 million, or $1.04 per share, compared to a loss of $14.2 million, or $0.13 per share, in last year’s first quarter. Revenue fell to $45.8 million from $61.4 million last year.

This is the “Weekly Market Wrap” for Friday May 27. Please join us on Tuesday for the “Week Ahead Market Report.”

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